Massachusetts law about professional licensing

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Massachusetts laws

MGL c.112 Establishes the boards of registration for the professions

St.2022, c.154 "SPEED Act." An act relative to military spouse-licensure portability, education and enrollment of dependents
Eases relocation requirements for military families and allows for the transfer of professional licenses for military spouses who move to Massachusetts.

Massachusetts regulations

230-270 CMR Boards of registration
You can find the regulations governing a particular profession here.

Selected case law

Doe v. Board of Registration in Medicine, 485 Mass. 554 (2020)
The Board of Registration in Medicine may not access criminal records that have been sealed, when conducting a disciplinary proceeding. But where the board obtained an unsealed criminal record that was later sealed, they could use that record as a basis for discipline. They could not disclose the contents of the sealed record as the basis for their decision.

Web sources

Commonwealth of Massachusetts citizens' guide to state services, published by William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Citizen Information Service, State Licenses: Division of Professional Licensure.

Division of Professional Licensure boards of registration
A listing with links to boards that license everything from allied health professionals to veterinarians. Each board has a link to its regulations, applications, fees, etc.

Division of Professional Licensure: check a license
The DPL oversees 39 boards which license and regulate more than 167 trades and professions in Massachusetts.  You can look up the license of a professional you're thinking of doing business with, or your own license – everything from real estate, to cosmetology, to construction management, and more.

Division of Professional Licensure consumer bill of rights
While not carrying the force of law, these "rights" articulate the philosophy of the Division.

Manual for conducting administrative adjudicatory proceedings, by Robert Quinlan, Asst. Atty. General, 2012 edition.
Provides guidance to members of boards of registration participating in adjudicatory proceedings.

Professional licenses & permits, Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.
Lists all categories of employment that require licensing by the state with links to agencies.

• Popular request: Apply for or renew a hoisting license

Print sources

Health care law: a practical guide, 2^nd edition, Becker, Scott, Matthew Bender, loose-leaf with supplements.
Sections include health care facility licensing and licensure of health care professionals.

National directory of state business licensing and regulations, Gale Research.

Last updated:	October 31, 2022